Come What May
by phantom and potter Obsession
Summary: It's been a slow three years when Kish and Tart come back to Earth. Things speed up. Masaya cheats on Ichigo and is nearly killed for it, Ichigo falls for Kish, and Pudding dates Tart. But can love stand when an old foe reawakens? HIATUS! My apologies...
1. The Return

A/N-I haven't really seen the animae, just read the manga so I may miss some of the finer points, but enjoy anyway!

Kish stared miserably at his hands. So here was Earth again. He'd returned. Returned over three years later.

Every night Ichigo had haunted his dreams. He suspected that Tart had his own reasons for insisting on joining Kish on the trip, reasons names 'Pudding.' He regretted letting Tart come. Kish just wanted to sink into his thoughts, but the little brat was annoying him too much for that to happen.

"Well are you going to halt the ship or what? I don't want to teleport to the wrong place or anything. Imagine, ending up in say Africa, or on the moon, or—"

"Shut up midget," Kish snapped. "We're not close enough to the planet to stop. And _why _are _you_ so anxious to get there? I thought you only hitchhiked along for the candy."

Tart blinked. "But it's very _good_ candy," the younger alien explained, as though that made all the sense in the world.

Kish growled a curse under his breath and turned back to the view screen. "Oh crap it, fu-" he halted the ship dangerously close to the planet, then turned back to his annoying underling of a companion. "Fears of landing off target is it? How sad. You're twelve you idiot, you've been teleporting for years. You're too old to materialize off target in any circumstances."

If Tart replied Kish didn't hear, for he had teleported down to Earth.


	2. A Typical Day

A/N-stupid author! She forgot the disclaimed last chapter. Well, if I owned Tokyo Mew Mew Masaya would be lying dead in a gutter while Kish and Ichigo stared into each other's eyes. Thus you can tell I don't own it.

"Lettuce? You're doing it again," warned Ichigo.

"Wha? Oh. Sorry," Lettuce said, tearing her eyes away from Ryou's form as he puttered about the lab, the door too which was cracked open slightly.

"Pudding broke a plate Ryou!"

"Yeah, well Zakuro you broke the dishwasher!"

"YOU SPILLED MY TEA!"

"Thanks Ryou, you just broke a beaker!"

"You idiot Keiichiro, the door's open!"

"Where's our order?"

"Coming!" Ichigo answered as she finally discerned something understandable out of the babble. She grabbed the tray for table twelve, tripped over the remnants of the dishwasher, and went sprawling. "Shoot!" she yelped, making sure the contents were unharmed before she delivered the tray.

The café had been busier than normal, and it was several hours before Ichigo could slip away to meet Masaya in the shadows. Well, she _could _meet him in broad daylight, but, she mused, there was something so romantic about slipping away to meet your love in secret.

"I'm glad you're back," Ichigo said, leaning into Masaya's embrace. Masaya had finally returned from England permanently, much to Ichigo's joy.

"I'm glad I'm back too," Masaya agreed, pulling Ichigo closer for a kiss.

Neither one was aware of the presence that hovered above them, his hands curled into fists, his golden eyes glinting with rage. "This isn't over, Aoyama," Kish hissed.

An idea lodged into the alien's mind, one that just might work. He sneered, then teleported to Ryou's house. He contemptuously let him self in, and allowed the door to close with a bang. The college student, who had been reclining in front of the television, leapt to his feet. "You!" he gasped as he recognized the intruder.

"Look I don't like you, you don't like me, everyone knows that. But we both like Ichigo. With me so far?" Kish began without preamble.

"So?" asked Ryou, though his heart leapt at the mere mention of Ichigo's name.

"So her precious Aoyama-kun stands in the way. Say we knock him off, then duel to the death for Ichigo," Kish offered.

Ryou eyed him warily. "The duel has to be on neutral ground, or else it's no go," Ryou warned the alien.

"Fine, whatever," snapped Kish. "So it's a deal?"

"Deal," Ryou agreed, sticking out his hand.

Kish looked blankly at the outstretched hand. "Oh, right," he remembered hastily after a pause, shaking the older boy's hand. "But that doesn't seal the agreement in the customs of my people." He drew a complicated rune in the air, then touched his ear. "Oh, and if you make even one slip-up, you're challenging all of clan Cereal to war," Kish warned him.

"Gee, thanks for telling me earlier," Ryou said sarcastically. He mimicked the rune, drawing the exact agreement picture, thus leaving out a line Kish had drawn.

"Until tomorrow then," Kish said, rising and flying off. He couldn't help but laugh at Ryou's ignorance. Kish had done a hex gesture, not an agreement gesture. Simply put, Ryou had agreed to the terms, and Kish had flipped him off.

Kish stopped to hover over the alley, where Ichigo and Masaya were still heavily making out. "Get your kicks now Aoyama-kun," he whispered. "After today, she is mine."


	3. How stupid is Aoyama?

A/N-I don't own TMM… But I own this fic! Nothing else.

Ryou tapped his expensive chronometer of a watch and scowled. The alien was late, and he had other things to do than wait for a freak to help bring Masaya down! "Kish you'd better get here quickly," he muttered, losing patience.

Nearly half-an-hour later Kish materialized directly in front of Ryou, knocking the older boy off the couch. " Sorry 'bout that," Kish apologized in a tone of glee. "I had to tie the brat to the exhaust pipe just to get away."

"You brought _Tart _along?" Ryou queried, shocked.

"Not to kill Masaya I didn't, that's why he's on the exhaust pipe," Kish explained, as though that made a world of difference.

Ryou decided to let it slide. "Whatever. How are we going to kill Aoyama?" he asked Kish.

"We lure him too us, put him on my ship in a holding cell to keep him from turning into The Blue Knight, let him plead for his life, then kill him.'

"Why can't we just kill him right away?"

"That wouldn't be as fun."

"Hey, just you wait a second!" Ryou cried. "That'll be on your ship, won't it? It'll give you the advantage!"

Kish gave him a patronizing look. "We'll transport somewhere neutral," he explained, slowly with mock patience. "Good lord, and to think you're supposed to be a genius!"

"And I'm supposed to believe you… why?" Ryou shot back.

"Because I gave you my word, remember?" Kish replied, subtly crossing his fingers.

"Fine. So how do we lure Aoyama too us?"

"Well I have a plan, but it only _might _work," Kish began. "Tell me, how stupid is our dear Aoyama-kun?"

"He has no common sense," Ryou replied sourly.

Kish cracked his knuckles. "Perfect. What if we made a cutout of Ichigo, dug a pit, put the cut-out in front of the pit, and let Aoyama fall into it?"

Ryou blinked. "That's so stupid, it just might work," he admitted.

"Good. I'll make the cutout while you dig the pit."

"I'm not doing _manual labor!_" the older boy cried furiously.

"Fine you rich, spoiled wimp. I hope you have enough artistic talent to pull off the cut-out," Kish taunted as he walked off.

Ryou had never been able to draw a straight line with a ruler, much less Ichigo. "On second thought, I could use the workout!" he called, running after Kish.


	4. Masaya is kidnapped

Disclaimer: Well if I owned TMM I wouldn't change a thing… except Masaya would be dead. He's alive. Do I own it? I'll let you figure that out.

Masaya frowned and glanced at his cell phone. Ichigo was nearly an hour late. "Ichigo?" he called softly into the darkness.

"Over here Masaya!" a squeaky voice called. Far too squeaky to be Ichigo's. He glanced over his shoulder. There stood Ichigo—was it Ichigo? It looked two-dimensional.

Frowning Masaya stepped over to investigate. He was so intent on figuring out what was going on that he didn't pay attention too his feet. The ground caved out from under him, causing both him and 'Ichigo' to fall into a deep hole. Masaya let out an inhuman shriek as his ribs protested and one nearly cracked. He looked at the cutout. It was very well done, but what was the point? Some kind of sick joke?

"Ha! You really _are _gullible!"

Masaya looked up. "Kish!" he gasped, recognizing the emerald haired alien. "What are—how—but you—"

"What am I doing here? How did I get here? But I left! Wake _up _Aoyama!" The alien managed to turn Masaya's name into a curse. "Did you honestly think I'd leave Ichigo forever?"

"She'll never love you," Masaya growled.

"Perhaps." Kish glanced over his shoulder. "Ryou get your last ass over here and help!" Ryou came over and grabbed Masaya by one arm while Kish grabbed the other arm. "Ready?" Kish asked Ryou. Before the older boy answered, Kish had teleported himself and the other two to the ship.

0909090909

"Ichigo, what's wrong?" asked a concerned Lettuce.

Ichigo glanced up at her friend. "It's Masaya," she answered, a tear trickling down her face. "He didn't show up last night."

"A little revenge for all the times you stood him up?" asked Mint innocently, receiving four glares.

"Hey everyone, I need you in the lab! Close up!" Keiichiro cried, despite the fact that the café hadn't even opened yet.

"What is it?" asked Mint.

"Ryou and Masaya are both missing, and the computer shows an anomaly above Tokyo, identical to the one caused by the alien ship three years ago," Keiichiro explained.

"Do you think—" Ichigo yelped.

"We're going to go save them? Cool!" Pudding squealed, jumping up into the air.

"Yes," Keiichiro replied to the hyperactive girl. "We're going to see if the aliens came back and are holding Ryou and Masaya or something of the sort."

"How," Zakuro began, "are we supposed to rescue them when they are _floating outside the atmosphere?"_

"Ah well, Ryou doesn't like people to know this, but he developed a miniature spacecraft from his father's notes. I'm sure he'll understand that I only told you because these are dire circumstances," Keiichiro said.

"Ah cool!" Pudding cried as he unveiled the ship, running onto it.

They all boarded the miniature ship, then Keiichiro started it up. He took the controls and flew them up after the ship to find Ryou and Masaya.


	5. Let's have a deathless threeway fight

Disclaimer: I own TMM!

Lawyers: **sue for copyright infringement**

Masaya was furious, to say the least. "_WHY THE HELL DID YOU KIDNAP ME?_" he roared at Kish and Ryou as they shoved him into a cell.

"We're going to kill you," Ryou informed him bluntly.

"Tactful. _Very _tactful," Kish commented. "Look, we both love Ichigo. You stand in the way. So we will kill you first, then it'll be a lovely fight to the death for the two of us!"

Masaya considered this, and decided it would have made good sense, had his life not been on the line. "Why don't we have a deathless three-way fight?" he asked the other two.

"And how, may I ask, do we keep the losers away from Ichigo?" Ryou inquired dryly.

"Well, say I win. I'll sell _you_, Ryou, into slavery, and give _you_, Kish, to a testing lab."

"I'll do the same, except I'll sell _you _into slavery Masaya, not myself!" Ryou proclaimed triumphantly.

"I shall keep my omnipotent plans to myself," Kish decided. "Mere underlings need not know them."

"Excellent. Now, lemme out of this cell so we can decide on a meeting place," Masaya demanded.

Kish unlocked the door. "Just out of curiosity, I thought slavery was illegal," he said conversationally.

"We'll figure that out when we get to it," Masaya said. "Now, we'll meet tomorrow. Where?"

"The part?" suggested Ryou.

"Deal."

They all shook hands and Kish made the two of them do the agreement gesture of his people. They were all ready to leave, when—

"Masaya! Ryou!"

All three boys whirled around. There stood the mew mews and Keiichiro.

"How did you get here?" the boys all chorused in unison. Then in clicked in Ryou's head. "Keiichiro, you didn't!" he cried, furious and appalled. "Everything was under control. There was _no need _for this!"

Masaya snorted. "It wasn't ten minutes ago," he growled.

Kish waved his hand. "Details. You all had better go before they attack me for kidnapping you, which I _didn't._"

"Yes you did!" yelled Masaya.

"Well Ryou helped! It wasn't _all _me. I should probably go untie Tart," Kish mused, abruptly changing the subject. "He's been on the exhaust pipe for hours."

"Tar-tar's here?" squealed Pudding.

"Let's go," Ryou suggested uncomfortably. "Until tomorrow then, Kish."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

As Ryou endured the lecture of his life, delivered by Keiichiro, Masaya told Ichigo about being kidnapped, and about the bargain he had suggested to save his life.

"Who do they think they are?" demanded Ichigo furiously. "I'll never love either of them! And _**YOU!**_ Risking your life to have a stupid, petty _fight over me? _Did you _ever _think about what would happen if you _lose?_"

"No," Masaya answered truthfully. (A/N-His poor little brain isn't big enough for that kind of complex thought.)

The ship touched down in the lab before Ichigo had the chance to reply. "Until tomorrow, Shirogane-kun," Masaya said, bowing mockingly. He and Ichigo both exited the lab together, holding hands in defiance of what would take place tomorrow.

A/N-She's still with ucky Masaya! I think even Francis (the fat cat if you didn't read the manga) is better for Ichigo than Masaya! Masaya just… **shudders**. Ok, enough bashing, on with the story.


	6. If you love me, you won't do this

Disclaimer… I said it once, I'll say it again, I don't own TMM!

"For the last time, don't do it Masaya!" Ichigo begged as her love strode purposefully to the park, where Kish already waited.

"I have to do this Ichigo," Masaya replied. "They'll never leave you be otherwise."

"And if you're defeated then I'm stuck with one of them for life. My crazy, genius, tactless boss, or a creepy perverted alien! Masaya, please don't do this, _please _don't _do _this!" Ichigo begged, her voice shaking with terror.

Masaya sighed. "If I back out now, they'll say I forfeited. I have to do this or lose. If I lose, I lose you."

He matched Kish's glare as they entered each other's eyesight. Both boys settled on the grass to wait for Ryou.

Ryou reached the park a few minutes later. It was strangely deserted for a Sunday afternoon. Not a soul was in sight to stop this atrocity, much to Ichigo's dismay.

Kish and Masaya rose at the sight of their last rival. Ryou took his time walking; finally he reached the other two. "May fate allow the best man to win, aka me," Kish stated, then leapt over Masaya's kick.

Ichigo bit her fist to keep from screaming. Masaya was an athlete and was skilled at kendo, but when he was not in the form of Deep Blue or The Blue Knight he was no match for Ryou or Kish. _'God, no, no, anything, __please __just stop this—this horrible atrocity!' _the girl prayed.

Suddenly, Masaya dropped from Ryou's punch to the head. "NO!" screamed Ichigo. Ryou contemptuously threw the boy's unconscious form aside, leaving Masaya sprawled some ten yards away. Ichigo was frozen in place, unable to think. One word ran through her head. _'Masaya…Masaya…Masaya…' _repeatedly raced through her mind.

A surge of adrenaline overtook Ryou. The first victory served only to enhance his fighting style. The collage student threw Kish to the ground and pummeled the alien's head, ignoring his struggles and blows. Finally Ryou's blow to the temple knocked Kish unconscious. The boy stood in victory and began to bind first Kish's limbs, then Masaya's.

Ichigo's brain started up again. "No Ryou, don't!" screamed Ichigo. She flung herself over Masaya's still form. "Please Ryou, if you love me, you won't do this! Please!"

Ryou hesitated. He had to get Masaya out of the way, but he couldn't bear to hurt Ichigo… "I will give Aoyama to a person he can easily escape from," Ryou stated slowly, as if he didn't want to agree to even this. "Will that satisfy you?" he asked.

Ichigo wasn't satisfied at all… yet she knew this was her best offer. "If—if you will do that, I will go out with you," Ichigo promised, a fist closing around her heart. The fist of iron dread.

"Very well," Ryou agreed. "I will return to you, Ichigo, after I have taken these two to their new residences." He hefted both Masaya and Kish onto his shoulders and walked away.


	7. Why We Must Ban Animal Testing

Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo mew mew, if I did I'd sue myself for doing this to Kish… muahaha! (goes from demented genius author to an angry Kish fangirl and back and forth and back…)

Omnipotent Narrator: Ahem. On with the story.

Kish groaned as he woke up, his head throbbing painfully. "Wha—what happened?" he muttered groggily. He remembered, Aoyama had been defeated—no. No! Had Ryou actually _bested _him?

Kish looked at his surroundings. He was in a rather large, but still much too small cage in what appeared to be some sort of human lab. There were mice and rats and other small animals in cages on the walls around him. "This is barbaric!" he snapped to the emptiness around him. Was he a test animal? And how was that acceptable, even in such a primitive society? Was it just because he wasn't human? He wasn't an animal either!

"I shall kill Ryou," he proclaimed. "I shall stretch his ears to a proper length, then I shall chop off each of his fingers, then…" he went on and on with his rant of what he would do to Ryou.

A middle-aged woman entered the room. She wore small, square glasses and had long, pony-tailed green hair. "Damn it, what am I doing here?" he roared at her.

The woman shrank back a little. "The young man who brought you here, _he _said you were one of the villains that were terrorizing us a few years back, and he said you weren't human _and _you were a criminal…" her babbling faded away under Kish's look, which could have cracked steel.

"And this is okay with you?" he asked, his voice deadly. Something was familiar about her, if he could just recognize it and use it against her! Ah yes, he got it! "Suppose, say, someone thought that your daughter, _Lettuce, _wasn't fully human, and she'd committed a crime? This would be okay with you then, right? No trial either on said crime, hm?"

The woman jerked back. "Wha—what do you mean? How do _you _know _Lettuce_?"

Kish smirked. Oh he had her in his power. He knew _exactly _how to get her to see reason, and let him out so he could kill Ryou. "Run along now, you wouldn't want to get your information from a mere, inferior test subject now would you? I'm sure you are _very _busy with the torture of many innocents for the eye shadow that can be afforded by a select few members of your insignificant race."

Lettuce's mother cringed. "I just clean here," she whimpered.

"Oh, splendid. Now I know why Lettuce is such a wuss.' Kish crouched in the cage. "Can't even make these things big enough to stand in, can you? How cruel. If I were you, I wouldn't let Lettuce know about this. The job of the mew mews is to fight injustice in any form, and I should say this qualifies. Actually, scratch that, if I were you I wouldn't tell _anybody _about this. Even as barbaric as humans are, this must be at least a _slight _infringement on your laws."

The woman froze. "Lettuce is a—you can't be serious!" she gasped when she seemed to remember her power of speech.

"What, she never told you? My bad, sorry. Whatever, I can't see a reason why I'd care what a person like _you _thinks, since you're obviously a sadist. And sadistic human, be on alert. My people won't stand for this." He sent a silent message to Tart, knowing his friend couldn't hear it. Tart had done the same to him in a time of need once, and he had happened by in time to save his diminutive friend's life, would it work for him?

"Sashimi!" snapped a portly man, entering the room. "Stop conversing with the subjects and get to work!"

"You see?" Kish asked sardonically. "Not even the dignity of a name then. An identity less, worthless test subject, that's me then." _'I'll kill you Ryou,' _ he thought savagely. _'Kill you and drag you to my ship by your innards.'_

"I want to test this new solution that may eradicate scars on our new subject, as he's the closest specimen we have to a human, closer even than the monkeys. See to it that you tell Alfredo to use the new one when you next see him," the portly man ordered Sashimi.

"No fuckin' way in Hell," muttered Kish. He wasn't going down without a fight.


	8. I Am Going to KILL Ryou!

Disclaimer: I own Tokyo mew mew about as much as I own Harry Potter and I don't own Harry Potter so the big question is: Do I own Tokyo mew mew? Well there are so many ways you could look at that that how are you supposed to sift through it? I mean, isn't a series owned by the fans? The fans are everything, without them the series is irrelevant! So if you look at it that way…

Omnipotent Narrator: I'm not supposed to do anything except narrate! Why do I have to keep cutting off the uberlong disclaimers?

Author: (Points knife at him.) Silence you fool! This is MY fic! I shall waste space with disclaimers if I wish!

ON: Ignore her, she's just upset because she's in distraught fangirl mode. Read on! (tackled by author with knife)

"Hey Mom, Ichigo's in really bad shape right now. Can she stay the night?" Lettuce asked as her mom entered the house, looking weary and troubled.

The girl's mother gave her an odd look. "Of course she can. May I talk to you?"

Lettuce followed her mom into the living room. "So what's this about?" she asked her mother. Maybe her mother had found out about Lettuce's persistent crush on Ryou and was there to lecture her about the evils of collage students. Maybe she'd found out that Lettuce was failing Algebra II. Oh crap that was probably it. Well she'd just—

Sashimi sighed, interrupting Lettuce's thoughts. "Why, _why, _did I learn from a _test subject _at the lab that you are a mew mew rather than from you yourself?"

Lettuce froze. Oh God, no! She _couldn't _know! _'Breathe girl. Make it realistic.' _"What?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Are you okay mom? Do you have a fever?" She felt the woman's forehead. "Um, how on Earth could a test subject talk? And what would give you that idea?" _'Oh yeah Lettuce. __REALLY __realistic,'_ she chided herself.

Her mother sighed. "I don't like it at all, I really don't," she mumbled. "I just wanted to know why you didn't tell me."

Lettuce dropped her gaze, feeling guilty. "I didn't want to worry you," she admitted. Then she looked up, dread coiling in her stomach as she realized that—a test subject?—Oh no, could this mean what she thought it did? No, no, it couldn't, never, Ryou wouldn't do that! "Mom, please. Tell me about the test subject."

Her mom winced. "A young man brought in what he said was one of the aliens that was attacking Tokyo several years ago. Mr. Bentou decided to make him a test subject." Her mother sighed again. "I _really _don't like it. He's too human, and he's only your age."

Lettuce stared at her mother in horror. That sounded like—"What does he look like?" she asked her mom. _'Don't panic. We don't know it's him yet.'_

Yet again Sashimi sighed, which Lettuce knew was a sure sign her mother was disturbed. "Well, he's got huge ears, dark green hair, golden eyes, pointed teeth, pale skin, a weird sense of clothing, hair in pigtails, and otherwise COMPLETELY human. Even human in some of those ways."

"Kish…" Lettuce breathed. "That sounds exactly like Kish—Oh I'm going to _**KILL **_Ryou!" she roared, a statement equivalent to blasphemy, the way Lettuce felt about the older boy. "I'd better tell Ichigo." She ran upstairs. On her way she called down "By the way, Zakuro, Mint, and Pudding are also sleeping over!" She reached the landing and ran to her room. "Ichigo!" she cried.

Ichigo looked up, tears streaming down her face. "Anything on either of them?" she asked miserably.

"I know where Kish is," Lettuce answered, "But it's not good."

"I have nothing on _either _of them!" Pudding cried.

"Pudding. CALM DOWN. Take your pills," Mint ordered. The youngest mew fished two pills out of their canister and swallowed them dry. "You already told us you can't find them Pudding," Mint reminded her. She glanced over at Lettuce. "So where's Kish?" she inquired.

Lettuce looked down and whispered, "He's at the testing lab."

There was a shocked silence that vibrated off the walls for over ten minutes as it sunk in. Then, suddenly Mint stood up. "Okay, _where _is Ryou, I'm going to _kill_ him, but first I will torture him to find out where Masaya is, never fear that the secret will die with him Ichigo."

"Please do," begged Ichigo, steaming. A _testing lab? _How barbaric!

"Why doesn't he just teleport out?" asked Zakuro.

There was a long pause as the four others considered this. "Maybe he forgot," supplied Lettuce. "Or maybe he can't."

"Why do we even want to save _Kish _of all people? Isn't he getting what he deserves for trying to kill us all on numerous occasions?" asked Zakuro. (A/N-BLASPHEMY! Don't SAY that Zakuro!)

"Well since the aliens aren't destroying Earth anymore, it's our job as Tokyo Mew Mew to save him. Then—after we've saved him, _then _we'll find Masaya," Ichigo decided, though she trembled at the thought of delaying the search for Masaya and leaving her love to his fate. Was he hurt, scared, or even still alive? "I can't _believe _Ryou thought there was even a _prayer _of me loving him after this," Ichigo seethed.

"Let's see what we can do for them and plot revenge later," Mint said. Was Masaya in a place as bad as Kish? She hoped not—but she shouldn't be concentrating on Masaya now. "Let's go, okay Ichigo?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said. The five mews got up to go stake out the testing lab.


	9. DON'T CALL ME A MIDGET!

Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew, as is evident by the existence of Masaya.

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"All right, where am I? I'm _hungry, _I'm _cramped, _and _**I NEED TO SAVE MY GIRLFRIEND!!!!!!**_" Masaya yelled.

A familiar head popped through the door. "Jeez, will you shut up already? I heard you the _first _twenty times," snapped Tart.

"Tart? So then Kish won… but where's Ryou?" Masaya asked, trying to put it together.

"Huh? Kish won what? I haven't seen him." Tart settled cross-legged in midair. "Ryou's not here, I don't know where he went. He came here to dump you off, that's all. He didn't say anything about Kish."

"But then—oh! I get it!" Masaya said, realization flooding him. "Well, I know where Kish is."

"Really? Where?" asked Tart, a little apprehensive.

"Nuh-uh midget. I—"

"DON'T YOU _EVER _CALL ME A MIDGET!" screamed Tart, enraged. Steam emerged from the young alien's hair.

"Fine, _Tart._ I won't tell you that for free. You're going to have to let me go, and _then _I'll help you."

Tart frowned. "Why don't we compromise?" he asked.

"Compromise? How?"

"Well, if I know where Kish is, that won't get him out by itself," Tart began. "Humans will need a little, shall we say, _incentive _to let him go, as I have no doubt he is being held by humans. He is, right?" Masaya nodded. "So, I'm going to need some leverage while bargaining to get him back, won't I?" the young alien asked, looking far too naïve and innocent to be true.

Masaya was not fooled. "All right, 'fess up Tart. What do you want me to do?"

Tart grinned demonically and whispered the plan in Masaya's ear. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," the human boy groaned. "Fine midget."

"TART!"

"Whatever, Tart then. Let's get this over with. And don't go overboard."

"Go overboard beating up someone who calls me midget? Never," Tart scoffed, punching Masaya hard in the eye.

A/N-sorry for the short chapter, but I'm glad that Tart gets to beat up Masaya, aren't you?


	10. How can any type of acid heal scars baka

A/N-GOMENASAI!!! I'm so sorry, I've been quite lazy about updating, I know… and to think this is the fic I update the most!

Disclaimer: If you EVER saw my artwork, there'd be no doubt that I DO NOT own Tokyo Mew Mew. But then I'd have to pay your hospital bills to treat you for shock…

Omnipotent Narrator: Yeah, you're telling _me!_

Author(ess): Silence mortal!

Omnipotent Narrator: But I'm omnipotent…

Authoress: In any case, I wish I owned TMM so Kish would fall in love with me…

Kish :runs screaming

Authoress: glares But, I don't.

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Kish couldn't tell up from down, left from right, or any of it. The pain was muddling his brain. His face was raw to the touch; the old scar on his temple was stinging like mad despite having the faulty product washed off. The solution… well, as said before, it was a faulty product. Why any idiot thought dilute hydrochloric acid mixed with bleach and tomato juice would remove scars…

"Well, scratch that idea," the fat scientist said. The man sighed. "Shame. We'll have to try something else."

"Not on _him_!" snapped a voice from above.

Kish's eyes flicked up—or was it down, or left? He really couldn't tell. "Tart!" he gasped, seeing his diminutive friend hovering in the air above him. "Tart, help me!"

"I will," Tart promised. "That's what I'm here for." He was holding a knife to the throat of a beaten, squirming Masaya. "Release Kish, or the human dies!" He pressed the knife more firmly to Masaya's throat, causing a thin trickle of blood to slide down the boy's neck."

Kish blinked. Maybe they _wouldn't _release him, then Tart would kill Aoyama and save Kish anyway! Then Kish could kill Ryou, and life would be great.

The _evil evil evil _man laughed. "I don't think you'd kill your superiors," he sneered. Stupid biased idiot! (A/N- he'll learn, never fear)

"Superiors, huh?" Tart asked, not amused. "Oh yeah, that's why we can teleport and fly and you can't, as well as controlling DNA of animals and their actions in Chimera form. So inferior are we. As for killing him—" he pressed the knife even harder to Masaya's throat "—you're gambling with his life here."

"Stop right there!"

Everyone spun around, even Kish, although it nearly caused him to collapse. He grabbed the bars of the cage to remain as upright as possible, then it hit him what he was seeing. It was the Mew Mews.

"There is no excuse to do this to _anyone!_" Ichigo cried. "_Both _of you!" Her eyes flicked from the scientist to Tart.

Tart shrugged. "Hey, get Kish out of here and I'll let him go really quickly," the young alien said.

"Tar-tar!" yelled Pudding joyfully.

"You idiots, can't you focus for just _one minute?_" roared Zakuro, providing an intentional distraction for Lettuce to let Kish out.

The fat scientist—his name read Dr. O. Bentou—yelped as Kish tapped him on the shoulder. "You're lucky I don't put you in the recycled vat of that crap you put on my face," Kish said, his voice dangerously quiet, his face looking menacing. "But if I did that, my love here—" he jerked his thumb at Ichigo "—would undoubtedly get angry."

"Tar-tar, let Masaya down, I think Ichigo's ready to attack," advised Pudding, seeing Ichigo's contorted expression.

Tart deposited Masaya gently on the ground. "Worth it?" he demanded to know.

"Sure," Masaya agreed absently. "Know where's Ryou, I'm going to kill him!"

"Absolutely not," snapped Ichigo. "You all were stupid enough to get me into this situation. Well _I _made a promise to try and save your idiot life, a promise that I'm going to have to keep! Happy day Masaya, the day I have to date Ryou, but I have no choice, and you can damn well keep away from my boyfriend!"

"Ichigo! ICHIGO!" cried Masaya after the girl's retreating back, for Ichigo had dissolved into tears. She ignored him and tore down the hallway of the hospital.

Lost. Lost. Kish had lost. He was saved from the testing lab, but what joy was there in that? He would never have his love. Kish faded from view, teleporting to the ship, where he lay down and tried to hold back the flood of tears.


	11. Le gasp! Bad Masaya!

A/N-Now this is where one of the things that may get me flamed comes in! Flames are welcome, along with all other reviews.

Disclaimer: I own Tokyo Mew Mew? Really? How interesting, I didn't know that! Shouldn't I have made some money off it?

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"Masaya, I'm tired of being just 'the other girl.' The girl on the side. Besides, I'm Ichigo's friend, and I don't want to hurt her by hiding this. Anyway, she's dating Ryou now, remember? I don't want _you _to get hurt when he finds out your sneaking around with Ichigo behind his back. If you break up with her, you'll be fine, and we won't have to hide this anymore."

Masaya nodded thoughtfully, if sadly. "I know, I know—but I don't think Ryou's so good for her. He's blunt and tactless. Every time I want to tell her we have to break it off, I can't—she just seems so… desolate after she's been with him. I think…" Masaya looked like he couldn't believe he was saying this, but after a pause he continued. "I think even _Kish _would be better for her. I'm her only comfort… I'm just having trouble thinking about breaking it off and breaking her heart." Masaya knew he was in the wrong on this argument, so he gave up and listened to what she had to say again.

"So, you're sneaking around with Ichigo, even knowing that literally, Ryou will _kill _you if he finds out. While you do that, here I am, having to sneak around with you to keep from hurting Ichigo, when you shouldn't be with her in the first place. You can end this, just by breaking off your relationship with Ichigo. And Masaya—" the girl looked like she was about to cry; she took a minute to get under control before she continued. "And Masaya, you _will _leave her, because I can't be 'the other chick' for much longer, and I _will _break up with you if you don't agree to be faithful to me!"

Masaya felt his heart seem to crack. Ichigo was very pretty, it was true, but he didn't love her. He couldn't—he couldn't—"I love you too much for you to leave," Masaya told the girl standing before him. "I love you the way I used to love Ichigo. You're right. I'd do anything to keep you, even leave my former love."

Masaya drew Mint's face to his for a long kiss.

A/N-Love it? Hate it? Kill-the-authoress? She wants to know! By the way for future reference, pairings are subject to change.


	12. Uh oh, Ryou's not gonna be happy

Disclaimer: I own Tokyo Mew Mew. I'm also Bill Gates, I'm the Queen of Kishtopia, I come from Pluto—what? Don't you believe me?

"Hey, Ichigo," Ryou said to the girl, slipping his arm around her waist.

Ichigo jumped a little, and then remembered to force a smile onto her face. "Hey Ryou," she replied, falsely cheerful, putting an arm stiffly around his shoulders.

God, she wished things had been different. She wished that Kish had—lost, and he had, but that Masaya had soundly beaten Ryou. Sometimes it seemed that she spent the time with Ryou checking her watch, wanting to hurry the date, to slip out and meet Masaya in the darkness. But even then, lately that had lost its appeal. Ichigo was certain that it was merely because she didn't get to see Masaya much, and never was she able to see him alone in the daytime. Ryou didn't trust her enough to let her.

"Hm?" she said, realizing that Ryou had said something. "Sorry Ryou, I didn't catch that." She bowed slightly in apology, which gave the added benefit of being able to slip away from his arm.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come over tonight," Ryou reiterated, smiling a little.

"Oh—sure," Ichigo agreed. "I'll have to be home by ten though, you know my spastic dad." She turned her thoughts back to Masaya. She had been wondering if she ought to break up with him. This was getting a little bit too dangerous. She didn't want him to get hurt, and, to be honest she didn't trust Ryou. All right, so the older boy had never hit her or anything, but sometimes she thought it was only a matter of time before the college student lost control.

And yet… if she gave up Masaya… she'd be losing the only comfort that she had after a long, hard day of trying to seem upbeat and cheerful. She'd be losing the only person who would lend her his shoulder to cry on. Ichigo cursed the stupidity of males for getting her into this situation, knowing she was being unfair, but not caring.

As Ichigo walked home after staying for dinner at Ryou's house, she took her usual detour. She slipped into the shadows and walked the long way home, then ducked to the left side of the back porch. Sure enough, Masaya was waiting, bathed in shadow, the way he always was.

"Hey Masaya," she said, relief evident in her voice. God, she hadn't known how low she'd been feeling until she saw him!

"Hello Ichigo," Masaya said sweetly. "You had a trying day, I take it? You can tell by your voice." Masaya put a hand on her shoulder. "I think I can cheer you up a little," he offered with a wicked grin.

Ichigo turned red as she realized what he was thinking. Still, they'd been together for a long time, and it wasn't like she hadn't hoped this would happen someday… "If Ryou finds out—" she began—

"How would he find out? Is he stalking you?" Masaya asked. He glanced over his shoulder to see… the wall of Ichigo's house.

"No—no, I don't think so," Ichigo admitted.

"Well then," began Masaya, "what are you waiting for?"

Ichigo shrugged and eased the back door open silently. Maybe all the excitement from her relationship with Masaya wasn't all gone. "My dad's home, so we'll have to be quiet. Come in, come in, just keep the noise down." Masaya followed her in, and the door closed behind them with a nearly inaudible click.

Authoress: stabs Masaya with screwdriver Die you evil cheating bastard!

Masaya: But then the fic will be incomplete…

Well, the first part, the battle for Ichigo, is over. We are on to the second part, which will be titled as it unfolds. I thankies all my reviewers, please keep them coming!


	13. Chapter Fourteen

Disclaimer: If I owned Tokyo Mew Mew, Kish would ditch Ichigo and date me!

Kish- Once again! **Runs screaming**

"Tart!" yelled Kish at the top of his lungs. "Where is he?" the alien wondered, exasperated. He had been searching for his companion for several hours. He was very hoarse from all the yelling. "He's probably on the planet," Kish muttered, wincing as his throat protested.

Kish hadn't been able to bring himself to set foot on the planet anymore, knowing that all his chances to be with Ichigo were over. However, he had to find Tart. Kish scowled at his friend for putting him in this predicament.

"Well, there's no help for it," Kish decided, sighing in a long-suffering way. He headed to Earth, to Café Mew Mew, to ask if anyone had seen Tart.

Kish had to force himself to enter the café. He was afraid he'd see Ryou, or, even worse, Ichigo. He steeled himself to enter the doors, and then stepped into the café. Ichigo had better not be the hostess.

She wasn't. "Welcome to Café Mew Mew," Zakuro said in a bored voice, as she filed her nails. "Lettuce will be your server… as soon as she's done with the dishes. In the mean time, please have a seat."

"Have you seen Tart?" Kish asked the model, not moving from where he stood.

Zakuro glanced up. She looked slightly shocked, but she quickly masked her surprise. "He's absorbed in a conversation with Pudding, which is why I'm stuck greeting customers. Have _you _seen Ichigo, Masaya, or Ryou?"

"No," Kish answered. "Thankfully. None of them are here?"

Zakuro snorted. "Much to the distress of Lettuce, who has a great, obvious crush on Ryou, and the distress of Mint, who we all know is going out with Masaya." Zakuro rolled her eyes in annoyance that the other girls would dare pine over boys on the job.

"Mint's dating Masaya?" Kish asked curiously.

"Yeah, everyone except Ichigo knows too. Ichigo's dating Masaya on the side because she doesn't like Ryou, and we all know that except Ryou. Well, maybe Pudding doesn't know," Zakuro amended. "She's too busy staring into your midget friend's eyes. Speaking of Tart, can't you get him away from here? He's even convinced Keiichiro to give him an employee pass so he and Pudding can talk while she's _supposed _to be working."

"He doesn't listen to me," Kish warned the older girl. "I can try though."

"Well that's fine, just go get a table, you're blocking traffic," snapped Zakuro impatiently.

Kish went to a table for lack of anything else to do. He sat down, noting with amusement that he was attracting strange looks. He supposed it was his ears and clothing, which he had been told made him look like a 'demented cross dresser.' Spotting Lettuce, he waved her over. "Might I have a cup of tea?" he asked primly in a very bad British accent.

Lettuce frowned. "Kish, what are you doing here?" she asked the alien.

"Looking for Tart. Zakuro says he's here…"

"Yes, he's in the back."

Kish nodded, then frowned. "I think… Bye! Thanks for the tea!" he vanished, teleporting to someplace else.

It was Lettuce's turn to frown. "What was that about?" she wondered aloud.


	14. The REAL chapter fourteen

Disclaimer: If I owned TMM… I wouldn't be me.

A/N- I have a headache! Not the best way to type a chapter… tell me if it turned out ok, d'accord?

"Of course, yes, I know," Ryou replied to Ichigo's dad. "We had a date today, but she didn't show. I just wanted to make sure she's okay."

"FINE! Just FINE punk, come barging in, invade her privacy, disrupt our lives! Just bloody FINE!" he roared, looking like a demented shark with it's hair on fire and flaming eyes. (A/N- Heehee, I LOVED that part of volume 5)

"He means, 'yes, come on in.' Ichigo was sleeping in today, she probably just overslept," Ichigo's mom said, leading the boy upstairs as her husband melted, refroze in the form of a flaming dragon, and breathed fire. She left the blonde outside Ichigo's door and went downstairs to calm down her spouse.

"Ichigo?" Ryou called, knocking on her door.

"Oh, Ryou! Shoot. Give me a couple minutes, okay?" Ichigo asked through the door.

"Masaya, hide!" Ichigo whispered urgently to the boy, who grabbed his clothes and ducked into the closet—such an imaginative hiding place, isn't it?

"Ichigo, your father and I are leaving! We'll be back in a few hours," Ichigo's mother chirped from downstairs. Ichigo's heart sank; without her parents to protect her from Ryou… where would she be?

"Okay! Bye!" Ichigo said, struggling to keep the apprehension out of her voice. She dressed quickly, straightening up her room as she went. She had to hide all the evidence before Ryou saw her room! "Give me a couple more minutes Ryou, let me do my hair!" she called through the door, glancing nervously at the closet, where Masaya hid.

"Ichigo? Are you okay?"

"I'm _fine _Ryou! I'll just be another couple minutes, that's all!" Ichigo finished straightening her sheets and ran a comb through her hair. Several minutes later she thrust open the door. "Okay, let's go!" she exclaimed, her face red from the rush.

"One minute," Ryou said, suspicious. He stepped through the doorway into her room.

"Ryou, come on, we don't have time! We'll be late!" Ichigo cried, slightly panicked. Okay, _very _panicked.

"Since when does that bother you?" the boy asked. "I think you're lying to me Ichigo." His voice was dangerous, his ice blue eyes stormy. The boy turned to the closet and pulled the door open, revealing Masaya.

Ryou looked from Ichigo to Masaya, his face a mixture of bewilderment, hurt, anger, and betrayal. "Oh Ryou, we'll be late! I'm not hiding anything from you," he mimicked in a high, falsetto voice. "Oh of course I wouldn't hide anything from you, I gave you my word!"

"Well, _you're _the one who put me in this position! You and Kish!"

"No, your precious Aoyama-kun decided on the plan, and it's not _my _fault he was incompetent and lost!"

"I made that plan to save my life!" Masaya yelled, infuriated.

"And look where it got you," growled Ryou. He leapt across the room and knocked Masaya over, fastening both hands around the younger boy's throat.

"No!" screamed Ichigo, dashing over to the two boys and trying in vain to remove Ryou's hands from Masaya. Ryou, feeling wronged and betrayed, released the boy with one hand and slapped Ichigo in the face, hard enough to knock her backwards.

"Masaya! MASAYA! Ryou, stop!"

"Ichigo, it's not worth it!"

Ichigo looked up—and there was Kish! Her heart gave an odd leap, but she put it aside. Now was not the time! "What do you mean it's not worth it? HE'S KILLING MASAYA!"

"Ichigo, Masaya's a cheating bastard who's going out with Mint! Did he tell you that?" inquired Kish.

"You—you're lying!" screamed Ichigo, feeling as though she had been slapped again. Masaya wouldn't cheat on her! He _loved _her!

Kish grabbed Ichigo as though to hug her and teleported her to his ship, pulling her close to him. "No! Masaya!" she screamed, trying to shove Kish away, pounding on his chest with her fists. "Let me go Kish! LET ME GO!"

"You're screaming too much," Kish commented. "It's going to ruin your voice."

Kish waited until Ichigo had sobbed herself into silence. "I don't think that Ryou'd have killed Masaya, but if he was bound—and—determined to, then there's nothing you could have done but watch. And, I think if he'd killed Masaya, he may have killed you too. I—I couldn't let that happen Ichigo. Ever. Ryou's insane. He doesn't always act it, but I really think he is."

"Masaya…" wept Ichigo.

"Masaya was cheating on you," Kish reiterated. "Well, I didn't see it in person, but Zakuro told me. Somehow I don't think she was lying."

"How—how could he do that to me? _Either _of them! They both said they loved me! And Mint—she's my friend—why did they do this?"

"Maybe Mint didn't know about you and Masaya? You two weren't publicly dating, after all. As for—well, I'd be biased giving an opinion on the other two. I hate them both," Kish said.

Ichigo was out of tears, but she looked devastated. The look on her face was enough to break Kish's heart. "But he said he loved me!" she whimpered. "He said I was his one-and-only, he said—" she broke off miserably.

"Ichigo, _I _love you," Kish began. "Maybe I didn't always show it, was a little forward—"

Ichigo gave a hiccup of a laugh. "A little too forward, a little too _stalkerish _you mean."

"If that's how you want to see it," Kish conceded. "But I won't be too blunt, possessive, and easily angered like Ryou, and I won't cheat on you. Neither of those two are worth you."

"And you are?" Ichigo asked irritably.

"I'll prove it to you. Name anything that's physically possible."

Ichigo decided to freak him out. "Very well, Kish. I order you to rape Ryou," she decided, keeping a perfectly straight face.

Kish looked revolted. "That is _**not **_physically possible!" the alien cried, disgusted.

"Fine, you're not worthy then," Ichigo said. "Just kidding! You should have seen your face!"

"Oh, _very _funny," Kish proclaimed sarcastically.

"Kish!"

"Oh great. The brat's home," muttered Kish. 'The Brat' was, of course, referring to Tart.

"Kish, Pudding wanted… oh. Well, that answers that. Never mind!" 

"If Pudding wanted to know whether or not I'd seen Ichigo, Ryou, or Aoyama, I've seen them all with in the past hour," Kish told his young friend.

"Good," Tart said. "That's good." As an afterthought he added, "Eh, where were Ryou and Masaya?"

"Ryou was kneeling on Aoyama's chest, strangling him," Kish answered helpfully. "Then Ryou hit Ichigo, so I got her out of there. Do you _honestly _think that bastard's good enough for her?"

Tart blinked. "Oookay then! I'll try to find Aoyama's body." 

"Please do," Kish said. "If he's alive, tell Ichigo. I think she's sad," he said, the understatement of the year. "By the way—Tart, this doesn't concern you—Ichigo, what _physically possible _thing do you want me to do to prove my worth?"

"Take me back to Earth," Ichigo replied simply.

Kish blinked. He might have looked… hurt? "Let me guess. Take you to Earth, reunite you with your beloved Masaya, then leave Earth never to return, make no attempt to contact you, and so on?"

"No—no, that's not what I meant!"

"Oh good, because I'd have no hesitation towards kidnapping you and taking you to my world until you changed your mind.'

"KISH!"

"Okay, okay!" the alien exclaimed. "Geez, you have no sense of humor!"

"Come on Kish, just take me back home."

Kish looked away. "Ever since I saw you, I wanted you to love me. I never wanted to kill you. Never. Oh sure, I tried to, but I didn't want to. Well, now the battle's over, and I'd hoped you could care for me the way I do for you. I guess not." The boy smiled faintly. "Wow. What a cliché speech."

"Kish, you're overreacting," protested Ichigo. "I just want to go home, that's all. And…" she paused, biting her lip, but something told her to go on. "And I want you to come with me."

"Really?"

"Kish…" Ichigo began. Kish cut off the words by leaning over and kissing her.

For the first time Ichigo didn't push him away or slap him. For the first time she wasn't revolted by the feel of his lips on hers. It felt… the way kissing Masaya used to feel. Only… different. Better. "Okay," she said hoarsely when Kish drew back. "Now I _really _want you to come back to Earth with me."


	15. Neeer! I Don't Remember stuff!

Hey everyone, I'm so sorry! I've actually been busier now that summer's started because I work at a barn 10 hours a day and I'm too tired to update when I get home! So I'm really sorry this took so long in coming.

Disclaimer: I have disclaimerer's block! No!

Omnipotent Narrator: What's that?

Authoress: It's writers block while writing disclaimers!

Omnipotent Narrator: So does that mean I can stop having to cut short your mindless disclaimers that take twenty years?

Authoress: Ehm… no?

Omnipotent Narrator: Oh for Pete's sake… She doesn't own TMM.

Authoress: Yes I do! No!!! KISH!! KISH!!! I MUST HAVE KISH!!! (Is dragged away by employees of the 'happy place)

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Masaya woke up to a face looming over him. "Tart!"

"Oh good, you're alive. Find a human in a dumpster, they're usually dead. I guess Ryou couldn't judge when you stopped breathing, because, obviously, you didn't. Oh, by the way—" Tart slapped Masaya hard "—that's from Ichigo. Well, she didn't really _say _she wanted me to slap you, but, well, you can imagine. By the way, I think Mint's going to kill you too. I'd suggest you catch the next possible train and leave Tokyo; Mint was breathing fire."

"My head hurts," Masaya proclaimed. "What happ—holy crap, I'm _old!_"

Tart blinked. "Yes, three hours older than when you were last awake," he informed the older boy.

"I don't remember—what were you _talking _about? Oh, I see, it's one of your little plots. Well it's not going to work, I'm not that gullible. _Why _on Earth would I cheat on Ichigo?" Masaya frowned. "And why do you look older?"

"Huh? Ehm… what do you last remember?"

"Ichigo," Masaya whispered. "I was…"he shook his head. "All I know is you're on one the ones attacking her! I want to protect her…"

Tart glanced at him with an odd look on his face. "Ehm… that was _three years_ ago Aoyama," he informed the older boy, a pitying look on his face.

"What? But—that's not possible!"

"I guess in cutting off your oxygen Shirogane damaged your brain," Tart guessed. "You need me to tell you what's going on?"

"I doubt I'll believe you, but fine."

"Okay. We left Earth. Three years later we came back. Well, Pai didn't. He took being in disgrace with our clan harder than Kish and I. So he stayed because he wanted to regain his status—"

"GET TO THE POINT!" roared Masaya.

"I'm _getting _there! Patience my young padawan!" cried Tart. Yes he was using Star Wars words. Why? He wanted too. "Anyway, so Kish and I came back because we don't care about our status. Kish and Ryou decided to kill you to get Ichigo, but you said you should all have a fight for her and Ryou won. I had to hold you hostage to get Kish back—" Tart snorted "—and _that _was a riot. So Ichigo had to go out with Ryou—"

"_**WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?**_"

"Because he won. And you and Mint started going out in secret but you and Ichigo kept going out in secret. Well, from Ryou's mood—" here Tart turned bright red "—you and Ichigo had some, um, _fun _last night, and Ryou found out. He, erm, tried to strangle you, and I guess he thought he killed you because he dumped you here and I found you."

"Nice try Tart. It's not going to work."

Tart smirked evilly. Boy was this kid (who was three years older than Tart) going to get a shocker! "Okay, that's fine. You'll find out soon enough, and you'll curse yourself for being so cynical. I have to tell Kish you're alive, so until we meet again Aoyama-kun!" Tart teleported to elsewhere.

"Can't pull that on me," Masaya muttered. He stood up and caught a glimpse of his face in the shards of a broken beer bottle. Holy—he did look older, with more defined features and a shadow of stubble under his chin. "How did this happen?" he asked the empty space around him, devoid of all life except a cat now that Tart had left.

Masaya shrugged. He didn't trust Tart, but it was impossible to deny that he was older, and so was the alien. But… Masaya just didn't think it fit. He would _die _for Ichigo! He _loved _her! He would _never _cheat on her! And if he did, it would not _not __not __**not NOT **_be with Mint! _Never _with _Mint!_

And… well, while Masaya didn't really _like _Ichigo's boss per se, he didn't believe the high school student capable of murder. (A/N-I know Ryou's in college in this fic, but Masaya refuses to accept that three years he can't remember have passed.) _That _was just too… strange… to believe. And—eeew, did Ryou _really _like Ichigo? Gross.

Masaya walked home, noticing with increasing anxiety that there were changes around Tokyo. They were minor, but still different from yesterday. Hid mother's favorite fish store had been replaced with a clothing store, a new elementary school had sprouted up out of nowhere.

Masaya entered his house, which didn't seem to have changed. "Masaya, where were you?" he heard his mom call, presumably leaving the living room to come to the door. "We were so worried—" his mother cut off with a scream as she noticed the purpling marks around his throat. "Ramen!" she cried.

"Soba, what's wrong?" Masaya's dad asked, racing over to the hall. "What happened—" he cut off as he saw the bruises on his son's neck. He ushered the boy into the living room wordlessly—

_Ding-dong! _The doorbell rang. Ramen got up to answer the door. Masaya heard a very familiar voice, only a little more mature than it had been.

"Hello, is Masaya oniichan home?" the young man heard a certain monkey mew ask.

"This is a bad time now, if you could come back later—"

"Dad, let her in please," Masaya requested, his voice sounding hoarse to him. Or was it only because it was deeper that it sounded off?

Mr. Aoyama sighed. "Of course, of course, come in, where were my manners?" he said, showing the child into the room.

She was taller, more developed, but evidently Pudding Fong hadn't matured a single bit since his memory left off. "Masaya oniichan!" the girl squealed, jumping on him and giving him a hug. "Tartar says you don't remember anything and you don't trust him to tell the truth—you really should trust him though, he's a _very _nice and trustworthy person and we are going out!"

"Huh?" Masaya was lost, but Pudding paid no heed.

"Ryou says he's very sorry and now he's going to focus on killing Kish, not you, so you don't have to worry. He also says it does no good to press charges because he's a skilled hacker and he can change government records in Japan and America so that he doesn't officially exist."

"Then Ryou really did try to strangle me?"

"Yeah. Tartar says it's because you and Ichigo were having fun last night and you weren't supposed to. Why weren't you supposed to have fun Aoyama-kun?" Pudding asked innocently.

_**"WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!?!?!?!?!!?!??????!!!!!!!"**_ roared Masaya and his parents at the same time.

"Please don't kill me!" begged Pudding, suddenly scared. Masaya's parents looked furiously at their son, who just looked furious. "I'm only the messenger!"


	16. Duct taped to a wall!

A/N- Sorry sorry SORRY I haven't updated! I lost this book, we just moved, I've had barn work and marching band to worry about… sorry. I'll be updating more now, here's the next chapter! It's a bit of a short, fluffy filler, not a lot happens for the next several chapters, just some fluff-fullness. The duct taped to a wall idea is inspired by an incident that happened to my friend.

Also, I categorized this as romance/angst, but re-reading it I noticed the angst doesn't come in until later and there hasn't been much sadness yet. I want to know if I should change the category to drama. All feedback on this will be considered and appreciated!

Disclaimer: If I owned TMM Pai would have the same torture chamber as Erik from POTO. He might, but since it's never mentioned it's safe to assume I don't own this awesome series.

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"I'm taped to a wall," Ichigo protested in a tone of disbelief, staring at the silvery, sticky substance trapping her against the plaster. When all the problems brewing over Ichigo had gotten out of control, a fed up Keiichiro and Zakuro had duct taped the brawlers to the kitchen walls of Café Mew Mew.

"It's okay sweetheart, at least we're taped to the same wall," Kish reminded her, laying his still free head on her shoulder and smiling up at her.

Ryou was simmering visibly, but as he was secured to a different wall, he could hardly do anything. Zakuro had specifically taped her three victims to a different wall from the blonde.

"So if you're _so _in love with Kish, will you ditch Masaya? Since he obviously didn't leave you like he said he would," Mint commented sourly.

"You can have that little turd," Ichigo snapped. "I'd _never _want to go out with someone who was cheating on me!"

"Quite the little hypocrite, aren't you?" Ryou asked angrily.

"That doesn't count. I _never _loved you Ryou," Ichigo spat. "I went out with you to save Masaya—looks like I could have spared myself that!"

"But now you've got me," Kish told her, his head still resting on her shoulder, his expression still blissful despite being unable to move.

The anger fizzed out of Ichigo's voice as she met Kish's eyes warmly. "Yes, now I have you," Ichigo replied. _ 'I love you' _she mouthed to the green haired alien. How could she have ever shunned him before? Okay, maybe when he was stalking her, but when he had died for her? All those times he'd risked his life for her? Why had it taken so long for her to realize she loved him?

The moment was broken Keiichiro entered the kitchen with a stack of dirty dishes. "Have you calmed down yet Ryou?" the brunette inquired.

Ryou growled something incomprehensible. "Apparently not," Keiichiro decided.

"You know, you were working for my father, which means technically you're working for me. I could fire you!" Ryou cried triumphantly.

"No, technically I stay with you out of pity, because the cover wouldn't work without me. No one would come to Café Mew Mew! You can't cook, you have no tact, our employees would all quit… Oh by the way, your shrink called. She wanted to know why you haven't been coming to your appointments."

"Ichigo, let's leave," Kish suggested as Ryou exploded again, teleporting away from the tape and freeing Ichigo. Everyone else in the room was too busy staring at Ryou to notice. "I want to show you my home world, Ichigo. Well, if you want to go, that is."

Ichigo smiled at Kish. "Of course, as long as you bring me back to Earth."

"Of course," the young alien swore, drawing the agreement rune in the air and touching his ear. He gently took Ichigo's hand, gave it a reassuring squeeze, and teleported away.


	17. Tart is NOT a crossdresser!

**Okies, I think my mom trashed my notebook where I wrote this! Gr… so I'm going to have to try and remember as best as I can what happens. I am SO sorry for the wait!**

**Disclaimer: Yup, yup, I'm certain that I own Tokyo Mew Mew! That explains why my videos get deleted for copyright infringement! BTW, did you know that the word gullible is not in the dictionary?**

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Ichigo blinked as the feeling of teleportation faded, leaving her only a little bit dizzy. The landscape around her was raw, as though it was a half-built house. She looked questioningly at Kish, who read her question from her gaze. "We used the mew aqua you sent back with us to heal our world. We've even started a few communities on the surface, but most of the action still takes place under ground. We're right outside one of the lifts near my house, so let's go get you a disguise."

"Okay… why do I need a disguise?" Ichigo queried, confused.

"Well… My people still hate humans, and they resent you all for beating us and keeping Earth. Some people even go so far as to scorn you for giving us the mew aqua, saying that they don't need the pity of 'inferior beings'," Kish answered sadly.

Ichigo blinked. "So I'd get in trouble, walking around without a disguise?" she asked slowly.

"Probably many people would try to kill you," Kish answered somberly. Then he brightened. "But not if you're wearing a disguise! Let's go get you one. I have one at my house—you'll look just like one of my people, only tanner."

Ichigo looked down at her skin, pale by human standards, but at least three shades darker than Kish's own. About to ask him how they would explain that, the girl stopped short. "Wait—you already _have _a disguise? And why's that?"

The emerald haired alien looked sheepish. "Well… I kinda hoped you'd come with me when I left…"

"That was cheesy," Ichigo muttered. "That was so cliché. The pining lover sets off to persuade the fair maiden who detests him to come home with him."

"Cool, I'm a cliché. Do you want the disguise? Or do I have to kidnap you and dress you in the disguise. I could dress you anyway!" Kish suggested, his eyes lighting up at the thought.

"My boyfriend is such a pervert," the strawberry girl muttered. She grinned at the way Kish's eyes lit up when she called him her boyfriend. "No. I think I'll keep my dignity. Uh… what do girls wear on your world?" Ichigo asked, eyeing Kish's clothes with apprehension."

"You wear what Tart wears. He's a cross-dresser," Kish replied, straight-faced.

"Not funny!" cried Ichigo, thinking about the short shorts and the revealing shirt. "What do they _really _wear?" she asked, pleadingly.

"Well, it depends. There are a variety of styles," Kish replied, teasing Ichigo by refusing to give a straight, honest answer. "Do you want to see the clothes or not?"

"Yes—and what do I do about my teeth? And my hair? And my _ears_, what on earth do I do about my ears? And—"

"Do you want to go or not?" Kish interrupted Ichigo's frantic worrying. "I've planned for everything kitten. _Everything. _Just trust me, all right?"

Those were the right words to use. Ichigo ceased her ramblings and smiled at Kish. "All right," she replied. "I trust you."

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**I think that could have been longer—and better—if I had my book for reference. Well, I guess I have no straightforward path for this any more—so if you want to give suggestions, I will consider them. Unless they involve Kish and Ichigo breaking up—the fate of their relationship makes for a lot of this!**


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